The Department offers and M.S. and a Ph.D. in Physics. These degrees are awarded in recognition of demonstrated knowledge of the basic facts and theories of physics and of a demonstrated capacity for independent research. Active programs of research are underway in particle physics, nanophysics, biophysics, medical physics, condensed matter physics, low-temperature physics, plasma physics, gravitational physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.<br><br>In general, graduate study in the physics Ph.D. program is expected to be a full-time activity. Other proposed arrangements should be approved by the Graduate Committee. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. is six years of full-time study, and the maximum time permitted is seven years. Students may pursue the M.S. on either a full-time or part-time basis.<br><br>Complementing the formal courses, the Department offers regular colloquia and informal seminars. Graduate students are members of an intellectual community and are expected to participate fully in departmental activities. Attendance at colloquia is considered an essential part of graduate study. In addition, there are regular weekly research seminars in condensed matter, particle, and plasma physics, and astrophysics.<br><br>Biological Physics and Medical Physics cover a broad range of disciplines that apply quantitative physical methods to the study of fundamental biological problems as well as the more practical concerns of human physiology, disease, and medical diagnosis and treatment.<br><br>One of the challenges facing modern biology is the need for a more physical understanding of biological function, particularly the interactions of proteins. The success of the genome projects drives home the fact that although we will shortly know the amino acid sequence of all physiological proteins, we understand very little of their function. Modern physics tools are ideally suited to probing protein function at the level of single molecules or small complexes. By combining a variety of measurement techniques and studies of both proteins and membranes, we will come to an understanding of the cell as a complex highly ordered machine. This advance is of fundamental scientific importance and will be directly applicable to medicine.